


My Brother Made Me Prey

by alphabot, doitall



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-26 12:17:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9896114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphabot/pseuds/alphabot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitall/pseuds/doitall
Summary: Seungsoo's mate is out of town, so he forces his shut-in of a brother to take her place. He didn't expect Kyungsoo to catch the eye of a dangerous alpha. But why doesn't the omega feel like Chanyeol is the threat everyone believes him to be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for do-itall fic fest (Prompt #176)
> 
> Author's Note: I almost threw out everything that happens after the party (about 3600 words in) because Chanyeol loses a bit of his dangerous-ness after it. But I wanted to explore the idea of what could have made Chanyeol dangerous in the first place. I hope I did the prompt justice.
> 
> Edited: 03/14/2017

“Stop fussing with your tie, Kyungsoo.” Seungsoo said.

Kyungsoo pulled at it anyway. “It doesn't feel right,” he mumbled.

His older brother let out an exasperated sigh before turning the omega round to face him. He reached out and adjusted the crimson length of cloth, pulling it snug against Kyungsoo’s collar. “There,” he said, patting the knot for emphasis. “Now leave it alone.”

“I still don't know why I had to come.”

“We’re here because these people are filthy rich, and we need to butter them up so that they open their big fat wallets and make a donation. The larger the better. The hospital needs a new pediatric wing.”

“That's why you're here,” Kyungsoo said back. “Why did _I_ have to come?”

“Because In Na is away at a conference, and I can't just show up to one of these things alone.”

In Na was Seungsoo’s omega and his original date for the evening. But she’d been offered a last minute seat at a conference for middle school teachers so she'd been unable to make it to the fundraising gala that Seungsoo’s hospital was hosting. What’s an already mated alpha to do when he finds himself in need amid a quick date? He forces his shut in of a little brother to accompany him.

“You should have asked Joonmyun to come with you,” Kyungsoo mumbled as the doors to the elevator finally opened. The banking executive grew up next door to the Do’s and was great at navigating the social niceties such gatherings required.

Seungsoo held out a hand indicating that Kyungsoo should go first. “He's an alpha. What kind of alpha brings another alpha as his date? And besides, Yixing is days away from giving birth.”

Oh yeah, thought Kyungsoo, how could he have forgotten? Joonmyun had mated his high school sweetheart, and after years of trying they were finally getting ready to have their first pup. He was only reminded oh so passive-aggressively by his brother every time he tried to get Kyungsoo out of the house.

Seungsoo led them to the coat check desk where they deposited their coats. Despite the gala being held on the richly decorated rooftop gardens of a hotel, it was a relatively warm spring evening. Plus, the gardens were littered with heaters to warm the decked out partygoers. Just before they stepped out into the gardens, Seungsoo grabbed Kyungsoo to look him in the eye. “Now look, Kyungsoo, I know that you don't like these types of social situations, but this is really important to me. My kids really need a new wing, and the people who are going to pay for it all are right outside these doors. I'm not expecting you to turn to into a socialite…”

“But don't be a wallflower. I got it, hyung.” Kyungsoo formed his mouth into a thin smile, even if his eyes didn't agree with said smile. “I'll be good.”

Seungsoo nodded and smiled back. He held out his arm for Kyungsoo to take. “Shall we?”

Kyungsoo forced the smile on his face to brighten and took his brother's arm. “Let's get this over with,” he said.

-

60 minutes. It's only been an hour and Kyungsoo is more than ready to go home. He's tired of keeping a pleasant smile on his face, he's tired of playing the role of doting omega brother. Frankly, he's just tired.

It's not like he didn't try to have fun. It's just that he's never been good in social situations such as these, especially when there are so many people he doesn't know. But he keeps a smile on his face for his brother’s sake, forcing his eyes to match. He’s polite and answers when spoken to, responding appropriately to stories and gossip. But he wants nothing more than to retreat to the safety of his home.

He's had a feeling multiple times this evening, the kind of feeling you get where the hairs on the back of your neck seem to stand on end. It's the kind of feeling you get when you feel like you're being watched. But every time he turns around he can never pinpoint who would be watching him. Of course, being in the middle of the party making rounds with his brother doesn't help. Someone could be watching him from any direction.

He finally decides to take a break from serving as his brother's eye candy. He pulls away with an apology, saying that his feet are tired and walks off to one of the bars set up at the outer edges of the rooftop. If it just so happens to be the one that's furthest from all the activity that’s not his fault.

He orders a soft drink and sits at an empty stool. He doesn't drink very often and he's already had two flutes of champagne.

“Hello,” said an unfamiliar voice.

That didn't take very long, thinks Kyungsoo. Not even five minutes removed from his brother's side and he's been approached by an alpha. Kyungsoo turns to face the alpha. And while he’s polite, he is in no way warm and inviting. Luckily the alpha takes the hint and leaves soon after getting his drink from the bar.

The next few alphas are the same, until one of them isn't. He sits on the stool next to Kyungsoo and proceeds to bore him with details about his father’s bustling construction business.

“...it’s really a no brainer,” Jongin, the alpha, says. “I'm not boring you, am I?”

“Of course not.” Kyungsoo lies through his teeth.

“Good,” Jongin says before proceeding to drone on.

The feeling returns and Kyungsoo has to fight the urge to turn around and find the culprit behind him. He's so focused on the feeling that it takes him a few moments before he realizes that Jongin has stopped talking, instead focusing on something over his shoulder.

“Good evening, Master Kim,” says a voice behind Kyungsoo in a deep baritone.

Kyungsoo observes the way that Jongin bristled at the use of the style attached to his name. “Master” instead of the “Mister” now appropriate, as if the man speaking stilled viewed him as a child despite his age.

“Park,” Jongin says in reply. He didn't even bother with a style.

“Lovely evening, don't you think.” The owner of deep voice circles round into Kyungsoo’s field of vision. Their eyes meet, and Kyungsoo knows immediately that these are the eyes that have been watching him all evening. This is the alpha who had set off warning signs in his head.

“I didn't know you were planning on attending this evening,” Jongin says.

“I wasn't,” the alpha replies. “But I'm glad I did.” He holds out his hand for Kyungsoo to shake. “Park,” he says as an introduction. “Park Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo reaches out to shake the hand before he even realizes it. “Do Kyungsoo,” he says.

Chanyeol doesn't let Kyungsoo go, keeping his hand gripped in an easy yet firm hold. “Mind if I sit?”

Kyungsoo nods, only belatedly realizing that there aren't any more stools at the bar. But Chanyeol takes care of that in an instant. Still holding Kyungsoo’s right hand in his own, he reaches out with his other and unceremoniously shoves Jongin off of the stool he was occupying. “Run along Jongin,” he says, all without taking his eyes off of Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo was expecting a bit more of a reaction from the displaced alpha. But no sooner does Jongin regain his balance does he bite back his annoyance and stomp off to rejoin the other partygoers.

“That wasn't very nice,” Kyungsoo says, but the protest sounds week even to his ears.

“I'm not very nice,” comes Chanyeol’s reply.

There's a smile on the alpha’s face, one that makes it seem as if he'd won something. Only then does he release Kyungsoo’s arm. But he moves his stool closer to the omega, positioning it to close him in against the bar while still being able to see the rest of party over Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“So tell me, Kyungsoo. What brings a guy like you to a party like this?”

Kyungsoo swallows. Why does he suddenly feel like Chanyeol is an alpha out on a hunt, and he's just found his prey for the evening.

 

-

 

Kyungsoo finds himself surprised by the alpha. He'd expected the alpha to close in and go for the kill, he truthfully expected that Chanyeol was going to haul him out of the party and take him to some room in the hotel to have his way with him. But Chanyeol doesn't do that, instead he proceeds to engage Kyungsoo in the most stimulating conversation he's had all night, and probably all week if Kyungsoo was being honest.

As an unmated omega, Kyungsoo worked as a librarian at the local university. As such, he was well acquainted with intellectual conversation. But Chanyeol had a way of anchoring it to the real world, a way of drawing such academic topics out and weaving them into topics that were more the norm for a social gathering of such people. Kyungsoo actually dared to say he found himself enjoying his conversation with the alpha.

He knew there were others who wanted to talk to him, Chanyeol’s eyes would occasionally settle on something or someone over Kyungsoo’s shoulder. But there was a possessiveness in them and in the alpha’s body language that made whoever they were back off. Kyungsoo knew he should probably feel a bit threatened by the alpha’s actions, but really he was just thankful that Chanyeol was keeping him from having to talk to anyone else. It was a nice change to the evening. He didn’t even realize how much time had passed until Chanyeol directs his charming smile on someone other than Kyungsoo.

“Dr. Do,” he says. “I was just enjoying the company of your brother.”

“I hope he wasn’t boring you,” Seungsoo says, but there’s a bit of wariness to his voice.

“Oh no,” Chanyeol says. “Quite the contrary. He has some fascinating views on the state of our post-secondary education system.” He switches topics. “How goes the fundraising?”

It’s only then that Kyungsoo thinks to wonder just who this Park Chanyeol really is. He’s never heard of him before. But then again, Kyungsoo was just a librarian and didn’t keep up with all the gossip that was sure to surround such people of wealth and high standing. He preferred his books and the comforts of a homely life. He also wonders how Chanyeol knew that Seungsoo was his brother. It hadn’t come up during their conversation.

Seungsoo steps closer to them, and wraps his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Fairly well, Mr. Park. But I’m afraid we’re still far from meeting our goal.” He squeezes Kyungsoo closer to him. It’s an intimate gesture, one that Kyungsoo has seen his brother do many times to In Na. But he himself has never been involved in one. In fact, Kyungsoo almost thinks the gesture was meant to be more possessive in nature. Kyungsoo finds it out of character for his brother. He’s usually very easy going and very even tempered.

“That’s a shame,” Chanyeol says. “This is a very well put together event. Such effort should be rewarded. I’m sure the children you work with would agree.”

Kyungsoo feels a momentary bit of exasperation at the prospect of hearing once again just how much the kids that Seungsoo treats would appreciate a new pediatrics wing. But this time Chanyeol makes him an active participant in the conversation, does so with surprising ease and Kyungsoo finds himself a bit impressed. Seungsoo seems to be so as well, for even if he’s said his spiel many times tonight, Kyungsoo had never chimed in to put in his two cents. But then again, Kyungsoo was just a quiet omega, he usually left such things to other more powerful men and women than himself.

Once again, Kyungsoo finds himself surprised with just how much he’s enjoying his conversation with Chanyeol, the ease with which the alpha pulls him out from behind his normally sky-high stone walls. But of course, like all conversations, it eventually came to an end. Someone approaches Chanyeol from behind and the alpha turns his head to look at him before he even has a chance to say something. It’s almost as if the alpha had sensed his approach.

Chanyeol reluctantly turns to look back at Kyungsoo and his brother. “I’m afraid that my presence is required elsewhere. It was a pleasure to meet you Dr. Do, and you especially Kyungsoo.” The alpha effortlessly stands to his feet. “I’ll see you around.”

Chanyeol gracefully turns on his feet and follows after the guy who’d come for him, probably his aid or assistant, Kyungsoo thinks. He hadn’t said it, but there is no mistaking the intent in Chanyeol’s words. His promise of meeting again was not directed to Seungsoo, but to Kyungsoo. He’s not going to lie to himself, it makes him feel both excited and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Kyungsoo has lived his entire life hiding away between the bookshelves of his library or his own home, never before has he had such a reaction to someone.

“Are you okay?’ Seungsoo asks, quickly sitting in the seat Chanyeol had vacated. He runs his hands up and down Kyungsoo’s sides, eventually bringing them to cup his cheeks and force Kyungsoo to meet his piercing eyes that were currently drawn into a frown. “He didn’t try anything, did he?”

“No,” Kyungsoo says. “He was a complete gentleman.” He wants to say that Seungsoo was being overprotective. But he knows better. He may not know much about Chanyeol, but the man gave off enough predator vibes that Kyungsoo knew that Seungsoo’s concern was not misplaced.

His brother stares into Kyungsoo’s eyes for a moment, as if weighing the truth of Kyungsoo’s words. Finding nothing to be suspicious, he nods his head and drops his hands. “I’ve got a few more people I need to visit. Then we can go home.”

Seungsoo keeps a possessive hand on Kyungsoo’s lower back as they navigate their way back into the center of the party. He doesn’t say it, but Kyungsoo knows that his brother was a bit rattled by Chanyeol’s interest in him. Just who was this Park Chanyeol? Who was this alpha that had made his brother’s alpha rear its head?

Kyungsoo pushes those thoughts out of his head and goes back to being his brother’s dutiful arm candy as they make their final rounds of the evening. He’ll be glad when this is all over and he can go back to his books. Hopefully never to see any of these partygoers again.

 

-

 

Chanyeol found it unfortunate that he’d had to be pulled away from Kyungsoo’s side. But the only reason he’d agreed to come to this gala was because he’d heard that Choi Minho was going to be there. He’d been trying to set up a meeting with the real estate magnate for months now only to keep getting pushed aside. So even if he wanted nothing more than to get to know the omega more, he wouldn’t let him get in the way of accomplishing his goals. Even if he was the most handsome omega he’d ever seen.

He’d noticed him almost immediately. His eyes had been watching the doors for the first hint of Minho that he could get. But the moment Kyungsoo had walked in on the arms of his brother Chanyeol found his attention beginning to wander. Many times during the course of evening he’d found himself watching the omega make his rounds with his brother. At first he’d thought the pair were mated, and it made him jealous. Luckily his assistant Sehun had only needed a few minutes before returning with information about them. He was strangely relieved to find out they were only brothers, and looking at the two of them now, Chanyeol had to wonder how he could have ever mistaken them for being mated.

His meeting with Minho had been productive to some degree. He’d managed to charm the alpha into agreeing to a face to face meeting on Wednesday of next week. Not what he’d hoped for, but given Minho’s previously evasive actions he’d take what he could get. He’d been feeling good and ready to look for Kyungsoo again when he’d been cornered by Jongin and his father.

Chanyeol knew what they wanted, another loan, everyone knew that they’d over extended themselves during the last construction boom and were having some troubles now. Chanyeol wanted nothing to do with that. In his opinion, failing to plan was planning to fail. If the Kims had been so careless as to get themselves into this predicament, they could certainly pay the consequences necessary to get themselves out of it. Still, Jongin hadn’t played fair by involving his father. Even if Chanyeol was complete prick towards Jongin, he would never be anything but polite with the elder Kim. By the time he’d managed to extract himself from the conversation he’d lost sight of Kyungsoo.

Sehun quickly walked over to him and lifted the champagne flute from his hands. “I was just coming to get you. They’re just getting ready to leave.”

“How short are they?”

“Roughly 400 million,” Sehun replies without missing a beat.

Chanyeol ruffles Sehun’s hair. He may profess to disliking such public displays of affection, but Chanyeol has it on good authority from Minseok, the beta’s boyfriend, that he secretly likes them. He quickly rushes out to intercept the Dos before they can leave. “Dr. Do,” he says.

The two brothers pause briefly before Seungsoo sends Kyungsoo along to collect their coats. Chanyeol found himself smiling. The alpha was playing the role of protector to his little brother and Chanyeol found it cute. He wasn’t going to let him get in the way though.

“I just wanted to say that I enjoyed my time tonight, especially with your brother.”

“Thank you, Mr. Park. I’m sure he would say the same of you.” The way that Seungsoo’s eyes don’t quite match his smile tell Chanyeol that the doctor’s words are truthful, even if he’d rather not admit them.

“I was hoping to get to know him a little more, perhaps take him out for a cup of coffee one morning.”

“I don’t think so, Mr. Park.” Seungsoo’s answer is swift and firm, cutting to the chase and straight to the point. “My brother is very busy and frankly has no desire to mix with men with an upbringing such as yourself. I’m sure there are a number of other omegas inside that would be more than willing to go out with you. But my brother is not, nor will he ever be, one of them.”

“I see,” Chanyeol says. It’s not a reaction he normally receives, but then again his prospects are not usually so far from his social circle. He’d known that the Dos were well removed from the elites he normally associated with. Judging by Seungsoo’s behavior earlier in the evening, he considered such a rebuff as more than likely. But again, Chanyeol was a third generation chaebol. What he wanted, he got, regardless of who or what stood in his way.

He brushed off the refusal as if it were nothing. “At any rate,” he said, “I truly did enjoy myself tonight. It really is a pity you’re still some 400 million short. But don’t worry, I’ll talk to some people, see what I can do to close the gap for you.”

Seungsoo actually had the courage to growl at Chanyeol, something that no one has done to him in a long time. “My brother is not for sale, Mr. Park.”

“I did not mean to imply-”

“I know very well what you meant, Mr. Park. I may not be from money and of such high class as most of you here tonight, but that does not mean I know nothing about you. Your reputation precedes you. My brother will not be another of your conquests. He is worth more than you will ever be.”

Kyungsoo chooses that moment to return, his brother’s coat held in his hands and his own fitting him like a glove. “Hyung,” the omega says.

“Have a good evening,” Seungsoo says before promptly spinning on his heels and dragging his brother into a waiting elevator.

Chanyeol watches them until the elevator doors close and seal them away from his view. Kyungsoo looked confused as if he’s not quite comprehending what’s going on. If he really was as innocent as Chanyeol is beginning to think he is, then maybe Seungsoo is right in being so protective of his little brother. It’s too bad Kyungsoo just had to go and attract Chanyeol’s attention, because as far as he’s concerned, the omega’s fate was sealed the moment their eyes met.

He feels the presence of someone beside him. It’s Sehun, of course, because no one else would dare walk up on him so closely. “How soon would you like the information?” he asks.

Chanyeol considers the question for a beat before replying. “Monday morning will be fine.” It was already Friday evening, and there no sense in rushing anything over the weekend.

“Will you needing my services this weekend?”

Chanyeol chuckles at the question. The way Sehun asked one would probably never catch what he was actually asking. And truthfully, a good lay in the sheets would probably be a good thing after the week he’d just had. But Chanyeol knows that if they were to have sex, it wouldn’t be Sehun that Chanyeol would be thinking about. Even if he tried, he knew his mind would drift to thoughts about how Kyungsoo would look spread out beneath him, the gasps that Kyungsoo’s heart-shaped lips would let escape, and the feel of an omega’s warmth around him. Sehun was more than just Chanyeol’s personal assistant, he was also his closest friend. Probably his only friend, really, and he deserved more than that.

“Go home and take care of your boyfriend,” Chanyeol says.

 

-

 

The ride home was silent, which in and of itself was nothing new. Kyungsoo was a quiet person by nature and more than content to sit there and watch the world go by with nothing but his own thoughts. But the silence that filled the car tonight was tense in nature. He knew it had something to do with Chanyeol. Something the alpha had said to his brother just before they’d left had tipped him into a mood. Kyungsoo knew better than to ask him what though. He and his brother had both inherited a good dose of stubbornness from their father before his passing away, and no amount of parenting from their mother had been able to undo it.

Thankfully the lights are on when they arrive home. It’s not In Na, because her conference will have her out of town all weekend, which means it must be Joonmyun and Yixing, their neighbors. It’s something to be thankful for as Joonmyun had this tendency to switch into Appa mode and take care of everything. Case in point, the moment they walking into the door, Joonmyun’s face falls into a frown and he’s walking towards them to pull the older Do into a hug.

“What’s the matter? Everything go okay at the gala?”

“Everything was fine,” Seungsoo breathes out.

“Then why the long face,”

“Park Chanyeol was there,” Seungsoo says.

Joonmyun turned to look at Kyungsoo, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders. Looking back at the evening, the alpha really hadn’t done anything wrong. Yes, he may have been a bit intimidating and domineering, but he was an alpha. Kyungsoo was beginning to think he’d been a little too judgmental of him. After all, he’d been the most enjoyable out of everyone he’d met that evening.

“And?” Joonmyun said, prompting for more when neither Do said anything.

“He expressed his interest in Kyungsoo.”

“Oh,” Joonmyun says, clearly not quite comprehending why Seungsoo was upset. But then he must have put it together, for he adds to more to the first. “Oh! Oh, Ohhhhhh. I see. What did you say to him?”

“I told him off” Seungsoo says, proud and sure of himself for a moment. But then he hunches over and sits in a chair at the dining room table, burying his head in his hands. “I might have growled at him too.”

“And you lived?” Yixing says.

“Hush, Yixing. Don’t believe everything you hear. Chanyeol isn’t that bad. He isn’t in the mob. His money is clean.” He turns his attention to Kyungsoo. For the second time tonight, Kyungsoo finds himself being touched and felt all over in the interest of making sure he was all right. “He didn’t do anything, did he?”

“No, he was the perfect gentleman.” Kyungsoo says.

“Probably because there were too many people there,” Yixing says.

“Enough,” Joonmyun snaps out. “You’ve been watching too many movies, dear.”

Yixing let out a huff and lowers himself into the chair next to Seungsoo. “Not much else to do since this doctor put me on bed rest.”

Seungsoo raises his head to glare at the pregnant omega. “Don’t blame that on me. I’m a pediatrician, not an Ob-Gyn.”

An argument is brewing, that much Kyungsoo can see. But he’s had enough for the evening, all he wants are some answers to why everyone seems to be so worked up so that he can go to bed without such thoughts racing around in his head. “Can someone tell me who this Chanyeol guy is? And why everyone seems to be so against him?”

Seungsoo, Joonmyun, and Yixing, all trade glances before Joonmyun relents and lets out a sigh. “Sit down, honey,” he says as he takes Kyungsoo’s hand to sit him down before joining him so that everyone is at the table.

Maybe Kyungsoo would have been better off not knowing anything.

 

-

 

Monday afternoon, flowers are delivered for Kyungsoo. There’s no card or any other message with them, just a half dozen roses in a simple vase. But Kyungsoo knows who they’re from even without a card. Even if he hadn’t heard everything that Joonmyun and his brother had told him, he’d know they were from Chanyeol. The predatory gaze to him was one that said the alpha would not let up easy. Seungsoo might have interrupted Chanyeol on Friday night, but he did not seem to be one easily deterred. And that was before Kyungsoo had learned what he knew now.

Park Chanyeol was heir to the famous Park fortunes. They had money and business interests in almost every sector of the economy. They were a force to be reckoned with. Nothing happened in the business world without the Park’s involvement, or at least without their knowledge of it.

Seungsoo had come home on Monday saying that some extremely generous yet anonymous benefactors had donated the remainder of the funds the hospital needed to build the new wing. No one was fooled. Chanyeol had no doubt played a role in orchestrating the whole thing. Kyungsoo even wondered how much of the money had been Chanyeol’s own.

 

-

 

Tuesday was a half dozen tulips. Kyungsoo made the mistake of bringing them and the roses home. In Na had been thrilled at the way they looked gracing the dining room table. But Seungsoo had taken one look at them and been downright livid. His alpha side reared itself almost immediately and it had taken everything within Kyungsoo to persuade him not to shatter the vases across the floor and throw the flowers out.

It was In Na who managed to calm her raging mate down, and Kyungsoo was grateful to her. He still regularly gets on his knees to thank her for marrying his workaholic of a brother. He usually does it as a joke, but it had been for real that night. She’s probably the only reason Kyungsoo hasn't been kicked to the curb or been forced into an arranged marriage. God knows Seungsoo has threatened to do so many, many times.

But now Seungsoo has completely changed his mind about it. As far as Seungsoo is concerned Kyungsoo can stay unmated for the rest of his life, especially if it means keeping Kyungsoo as far away from Chanyeol as possible. The heir has a reputation as a cold-hearted playboy. The list of who has been linked to the alpha is a who’s who of actresses, singers, models, and heiresses. Despite such a lengthy list, he hardly shows up to event with a date. Of the few instances where he has, the women who he’d shown up with can count themselves among the relative few who have been seen with the alpha in public more than once, but never more than a handful of times. And even if they are supposedly together, everyone can see the distance between them. Chanyeol seemed to be the love them and leave them type, and for that reason Seungsoo would be fine if Kyungsoo went to his grave a virgin.

 

-

 

Wednesday brings six carnations, each in a different color. By now, Kyungsoo’s co-workers have begun to talk, wondering who could possibly be courting the wall-flower that Kyungsoo has been labeled as. If only they knew. But knowing them, they would never believe it unless the alpha himself showed up with the flowers.

Apparently there was a rumored sex-tape that Chanyeol had made with one of his less discrete lovers. It had been leaked for all of a day before the might and power of the Park fortunes came down and erased its presence from the world wide web, a seemingly impossible feat but one they’d managed to do. But Kyungsoo knows where to look to find it. He doesn’t advertise it, but he actually holds a doctorate in history, and he is very good at unearthing difficult to find sources.

He waits until he gets home to watch it, not wanting the IT department to get wind of how he circumvents the firewalls they’ve set up on the university’s servers. He tells himself it's just the same as watching the porn he’d found while repairing his brother’s computer back as an undergrad. Not that he’d ever admit to doing such acts.

The video is dark, all shadows and bad camera angles. But Kyungsoo can immediately tell that the girl in the video is her, the singer that had caused the firestorm by allegedly having her house broken into and the video stolen. Less certain is the man in the video.

He is very, very similar to the alpha, but by ten minutes into the video Kyungsoo knows it isn’t him. Just over an hour in Chanyeol’s presence and his bodylines and movements are already burned into Kyungsoo’s mind as if he’d known him for years. Kyungsoo might even say he’d imprinted on the alpha, except all scientific research has disproved imprinting as nothing more than a myth. At least, the research that Kyungsoo chooses to believe as valid. There is some research that claims imprinting is real, Kyungsoo just chooses to view them as less than credible.

Kyungsoo turns the video off shortly after deciding the man in it isn’t Chanyeol. He’s come to two conclusions. The first, is no wonder she settled out of court, for there is no way that her claim that the man was Chanyeol would have held up under scrutiny. And the second, is that she should be glad the Parks had practically erased it from the web. It was a horrible video.

 

-

 

On Thursday there are six lilies already delivered when Kyungsoo arrives for work. Seungsoo walked in with him because he’d somehow known that Kyungsoo had received flowers yesterday and had simply chosen not to bring them home to avoid any confrontation. Seungsoo immediately goes rigid at the sight of them, but he manages to contain his rage until Kyungsoo lets him into a private conference room.

“I cannot believe the man!” he shouts. It’s a good thing the room is soundproof. “How dare he. I specifically told him to stay away from you.”

“He hasn’t approached me at all,” Kyungsoo says.

“The man is sending you flowers every day. That is hardly staying away, and you know it Kyungsoo.”

“You don’t know it’s him for certain. It could be someone else.”

“Like who?”

“Like Jongin,” says Kyungsoo.

Seungsoo actually stops his wild pacing to look at Kyungsoo, his eyes wide in surprise. Two heartbeats later the alpha is laughing. “Jongin, from Kim Construction? His company’s in trouble, the man doesn't have any money to waste on flowers. Besides, I thought I overheard you telling In Na the man was bore.”

Kyungsoo mutters out his agreement that yes he did find Jongin a bore and no, he didn’t think the flowers were from him either.

Promising to call him the moment Chanyeol showed his face, a big hypothetical if in Kyungsoo’s book, Kyungsoo was able to get his brother to leave him alone and let him do his job. If his eyes happened to glance over towards the lilies on the circulation desk every so often, it was no one’s business but his own. The flowers were a nice addition to the stuffy library. Perhaps Kyungsoo should look into getting a real plant for the desk. Maybe a nice looking bonsai.

 

-

 

Friday is six peonies, but still no card and still no sign of Chanyeol. He finds out why soon enough when he boots up his computer to sift through his emails and directs his browser to his favorite news site.

Kyungsoo doesn’t usually read the entertainment section. He usually skips right over it to the science and technology section a few sections under it. But as Wednesday’s video session had proven, he’d know that physique anywhere. Chanyeol was apparently out of the country attending some fashion event. The picture shows him in the midst of a bunch of beautiful models, all of them seemingly squeezing in so close that one of them is practically draped all over him.

But it’s his eyes that capture Kyungsoo’s interest. There’s a deadness to them, a sort of hollowness that belies the life and intensity he knows resides within the alpha. It’s as if he’d closed himself off from the world to hide away. Why on earth would he do that?

His curiosity gets the best of him and he clicks on the link to the full story. There’s not much there, the article doesn’t even say much about the Park heir, only that he was there representing his family at the event. In fact, most of the article is dedicated to a decorated singer who’d just debuted his own fashion line at the event, an omega by the name of Byun Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know why, but he clicks on the gallery of photos from the event. He goes through them quickly until one makes him pauses. It’s a picture of Baekhyun in the arms of his mate, basking in the applause at the end of a show. But it's a figure in the background that draws his attention. It isn’t clear, nor is it particularly well lit. But again, he’d know that body anywhere. Kyungsoo flips back and forth between a few photos to confirm his suspicions that the unfocused man is in fact Chanyeol. He can’t quite make out his face, but his body posture screams sadness.

Who is this man that would render the proud and arrogant alpha sad? Kyungsoo decides it’s not his place to find out. He’s already wasted enough time looking at all these pictures. And truth be told, he doesn’t want his heart to break either. Because all evidence points to Seungsoo and Joonmyun being right. Chanyeol is a love them and leave them type of guy, and Kyungsoo isn’t. He’s always known that he’s a one and forever guy, till death do us part.

 

-

 

Chanyeol arrives home early Sunday morning, but he doesn’t feel like going home. He doesn’t want to be alone with his thoughts right now. He’d rather be anywhere else so he just drives and drives until he finds himself idling outside a small public library. How he ended up here isn’t much a mystery, the reason had walked by only a few minutes ago after getting off of the bus, oblivious to the eyes that followed him across parking lot, up the stone stairs and into the building.

Do Kyungsoo, 27 years old, omega. His parents were immigrants, but his father had passed away to cancer when he was 9, and then his mother in a car accident when he was 13, leaving him to be raised by his older brother. He was close to Kim Joonmyun, an executive that worked for one of the Park subsidiaries, and his mate Yixing, but other than that he had no other close relations. He worked in the university library and on most Sundays he could be found here, volunteering his time teaching others how to read.

The report Sehun had had ready on his desk first thing Monday morning had been oddly short in length but extremely thorough. It had only served to increase Chanyeol's intrigue in the omega. He’d been particularly taken with the fact that the guy was basically a shut in. He worked in a library, volunteered in another one on Sundays, and that was it. Something within him wanted to show the omega what he’d been missing, and not just in the bedroom.

He wants to take the omega on summer picnics in the park, on leisurely strolls through raining autumn leaves, ice skating on clear winter days, and impromptu dances in the spring rain. Things that he’d once wanted to do with-

No!

He summons the fierceness that he’s known for, the cold and distant persona that he wears most every day of his life. He shuts off his car and gets out. He’s here because he’s intrigued, that’s all. That and he’d been told he couldn't have. No one told Park Chanyeol he couldn’t have something. Filled with purpose, Chanyeol marches into the library with his head held high.

 

-

 

Chanyeol had to give Kyungsoo a bit more credit than he’d thought he was due. The omega hadn’t even been surprised to see him there. He’d taken one glance at him, reached over to get a picture book and handed it to a boy and girl, told them to ask the nice tall alpha to read it to them. One had turned into two, had turned into three, had turned into ten. It’s a good thing they were short and had a lot of pictures.

The little boy had fallen asleep after book five. It was the girl who’d kept demanding for more. Chanyeol indulged her until Kyungsoo wrapped up his session with the three older omegas. Their accents gave them away as immigrants, and they had probably never had the opportunity for an education where they’d come from. Chanyeol felt a little proud watching Kyungsoo help these women make better lives for themselves.

Session over, the little girl ran over to Kyungsoo.

“Mister Soo, is that your boyfriend?” she asked. Chanyeol guessed she was supposed be whispering, but she wasn’t very successful at keeping her volume down.

“No, dear,” Kyungsoo said with a smile.

“Do you think he’ll be mine? He’s very handsome.”

Kyungsoo laughed, and Chanyeol found himself enjoying the sound of it. “I don’t know, I’m not quite sure you’re his type.”

“What’s his type?” she asked.

Luckily the girl’s mother came to collect her just then, saving Kyungsoo from having to answer that and any more questions. The mother also took her sleeping son from Chanyeol’s arms, apologizing profusely for the wet spot on his shoulder. Chanyeol just smiled and waved away her concerns. What’s a little spit on your shirt, after all?

“So, Mr. Park,” says Kyungsoo after his class has fully dispersed. “What brings you to this humble library?”

“I was looking for a lunch date,” he says.

Kyungsoo eyes him warily for a moment. The easy, carefree nature he’d carried himself with earlier was gone, replaced by a more cautious one. “You know I’m going to have to tell my brother.”

Chanyeol nodded. He’d suspected as much, knew that Kyungsoo would have been instructed to tell Seungsoo if Chanyeol made a move. It’s a good thing Chanyeol had taken some measures of his own. He holds up his arm to the omega and escorts him out to his car, opening the door for him and everything.

As he rounds the front to get in on the driver's side, he makes a quick call. “It’s me,” he says. “Make it happen.” And then he hangs up. Seungsoo won’t be getting that call anytime soon.

 

-

 

The moment Kyungsoo figured out they were going to the alpha’s apartment he’d went into a small tizzy. But Chanyeol had simply reached across the console and entwined his hand with Kyungsoo’s own. The heat and warmth of it had managed to calm him somewhat. The alpha’s captivating smile had done the rest. When they arrive, he followed the alpha into the private elevator that would take them to his penthouse apartment. As the doors close, Kyungsoo thinks that his fate is sealed, and the look that Chanyeol fixes on him tells him that it is.

Kyungsoo had called Seungsoo the moment he’d sat down in Chanyeol’s car but it had gone to voicemail. As far as he knew his brother wasn’t on duty today, but emergencies did happen. He had also called In Na as well but had ended up with the same results. He regards Chanyeol’s easy nature. He doesn’t seem like he’s rushing to finish their date before it’s ruined. He’s carrying on like he has all the time in the world.

“My brother isn’t coming, is he?”

Chanyeol’s smile morphs into a mischievous grin. “Hopefully not anytime soon.”

“What did you do?”

“Your neighbor, Joonmyun, works for me in one of our subsidiaries. I simply pointed out that it would be an inconvenience to find himself without a job when his mate is due any day now. Anything could happen to him. He was more than willing to play interference for me.”

“That wasn't very nice,” Kyungsoo says. He’d basically threatened a pregnant omega.

“All's fair in love and war,” is Chanyeol’s reply.

“And what is this?” Kyungsoo asks.

Chanyeol lets out an amused huff of air, but he doesn’t answer Kyungsoo. And really, Kyungsoo hadn’t expected one. Any answer that had any semblance of the truth would have given Kyungsoo the push he’d need to find the willpower to leave. Instead the doors of the elevator open and the moment is gone.

“Come,” says Chanyeol. “Let’s get something to eat.”

They make it through lunch without anything too out of the ordinary happening. They’d worked together to put together a meal of kimchi spaghetti, a favorite of Chanyeol’s. The delight in the alpha’s eyes when Kyungsoo revealed he knew such personal information about him made Kyungsoo blush a bit. There were lingering touches, intimate caresses meant to ease Kyungsoo into a sense of calm and comfort. But at the same time they told of promises of what was most definitely to come.

Chanyeol explained that he didn’t want their outing to become front page news for the gossip tabloids. He didn’t want flashing cameras or nosy strangers intruding on them. He wanted a simple date, just him and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo can understand that, can identify with the need to hide away from the public eye.

But still, something is happening between them. Kyungsoo could sense it, the atmosphere building and changing in the apartment, the slow burn of desire kindling in the air. Chanyeol wants to bed him, wants to have his way with him. Any sane part of him would have him running out the door and as far away from Chanyeol as possible. But instinct was holding him here. Some primal and basic intuition that this was where he was supposed to be.

Kyungsoo wonders just what Joonmyun might have done to prevent Seungsoo from picking up his phone and listening to Kyungsoo’s voicemail. Still, so far Chanyeol has been nothing but the perfect date, the perfect gentleman. Kyungsoo should really come up with another way to describe him, but he can’t come up with anything else. He doesn’t have to worry about it for much longer though, not with the way things are progressing. That feeling he’d had that first night at the gala last week has returned, the one he’d gotten when he’d been the focus of Chanyeol’s stares.

Kyungsoo knows it’s Chanyeol now, for no one else was around to look at him. When he turns around to face the alpha, he doesn’t even turn away. The smile on his face just gets even wider, gets more heated, more intense.

“I enjoyed myself,” Kyungsoo says, trying to distract the alpha with conversation.

“I’m glad,” comes Chanyeol’s reply. He moves slowly but with grace of a predator, maneuvering Kyungsoo across his living room. He was like a wolf circling in on his prey, positioning Kyungsoo where he wanted him.

“I should probably get going, my brother will be worried.” Kyungsoo’s knees bump against something and he finds himself lowering onto the leather couch behind him. Kyungsoo should really be running right now. He should be getting to his feet and rushing out the door, never to see this alpha ever again. Everything points to him being nothing more than another conquest of the great Park Chanyeol. But there’s a part of him telling him to stay, that this is okay, right even.

Chanyeol circles around the coffee table, sitting on the dark stained wood and caging Kyungsoo in with his knees. Then he leans close and captures Kyungsoo’s lips in a kiss. It’s light, and rather chaste in Kyungsoo’s opinion, not that he’s had a lot of practice with this sort of thing. It’s definitely not what Kyungsoo was expecting from the alpha. But it’s no less effective, it makes Kyungsoo feel things that he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Chanyeol presses closer still and gives him another kiss, this one deeper than the first. And then a third, deeper still. He pauses for a brief moment, waits until Kyungsoo opens his eyes so that he can look into the depths of them. Then he closes in for the kill, kissing and sucking mark’s into Kyungsoo’s neck like there’s no tomorrow. And Kyungsoo couldn’t care less.

That is, until the sound of someone banging on the front door with enough force to intend to bring it down breaks the spell.

“Your brother’s here,” Chanyeol says. His forehead is still pressed against Kyungsoo’s. Their heavy breaths mingling in the air. He pulls back with great reluctance, but he gives Kyungsoo a smile that shows he’s happy. It wasn’t a claiming bite, but the alpha had left his mark on Kyungsoo, and the omega within him is happy too.

Seungsoo spills enough angry words to last a lifetime, practically threatening the taller and obviously more powerful Chanyeol within an inch of his life. But the alpha just stands there and takes it, the smile never once leaving his face. He lets Seungsoo say his piece twice over and call Chanyeol every possible curse word he could think of, all without saying a word in his defense. Done with his rant, Seungsoo turns to storms out, dragging a still somewhat dazed Kyungsoo behind him.

Only then does Chanyeol break his silence. “I’ll call you, Kyungsoo.”

Seungsoo turns around so quickly and lands a punch to Chanyeol’s jaw before Kyungsoo even knew what was happening. Somehow he manages to drag his fuming alpha of an older brother away and into the elevator to leave. The last thing Kyungsoo sees before the doors slide shut is Chanyeol wiping a bit of blood from his chin, laughing at the audacity of Seungsoo actually hitting him.

 

-

 

This time the ride home is downright uncomfortable. Seungsoo’s knuckles are white as his grips the steering wheel so tightly Kyungsoo wonders if it’ll break. But he doesn’t say a word.

The last time Seungsoo had been this angry was when his university had told him they wouldn’t help him out with housing because he was living with an unmated omega. Of course he was, who else was Kyungsoo supposed to live with? The scene that Seungsoo had made in the admissions office had become college lore. So much so that Kyungsoo’s name was remembered. When it came time for his own application, the university had replied within the week, full scholarships and housing included in the letter.

But this wasn’t the same. They were older, and the situation was more than a simple misunderstanding. Kyungsoo had willingly went with the alpha despite his brother’s warnings. And someone, a trusted someone, had intervened to prevent Seungsoo from finding out.

Seungsoo doesn’t even park the car straight in their driveway, but he’s so angry he doesn’t bother to straighten it out. He just turns off the engine, climbs out, and slams his car door shut.

“Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun says from across the drive. The look he wears is fully remorseful, fully sorry for his actions. But Kyungsoo doesn’t blame him.

“Stay away from him, you traitor!” Seungsoo shouts.

The biting comment stops Joonmyun in his tracks. Yixing is at the top of the porch, a hand pressed protectively to his round stomach.

“I’m really sorry, Kyungsoo.” Joonmyun says.

“It’s okay, Joonmyun.” says Kyungsoo. “He told me he threatened Yixing.”

The hiss from Seungsoo says he didn’t know that. But now isn’t the time for that. Kyungsoo quickly waves Joonmyun and Yixing away and follows his brother into the house.

“Go to your room, Kyungsoo.” Seungsoo orders him.

“I’m not a child anymore,” he says back.

“Then stop acting like one. Do you know what could have happened if I didn't get there in time? Do you even know what you look like right now?”

“Seungsoo, enough” says In Na, their yelling having drawn her away from the kitchen. “Take a walk.”

Seungsoo doesn’t listen immediately, but he eventually complies with his mate’s request. He storms back out of the house and lets the door crash behind him.

In Na turns to Kyungsoo and fixes him with a carefully schooled gazed. “Take a shower, you smell like him.”

Kyungsoo nods and goes to do as she says.

 

-

 

It takes him a while. His mind keeps drifting off to the events from earlier. The way that he’d responded to Chanyeol’s touches. The way that the alpha’s lips had felt against his own. And when he finally gets himself out of the shower, he gets distracted by the sight of the red marks that Chanyeol had left on the juncture of where his neck met his shoulder. The possessiveness of such an act is not lost on Kyungsoo.

It’s not until he hears unfamiliar voices that Kyungsoo brings himself to throw on some clean clothes and venture outside. There are two strangers sitting with In Na in the living room. The moment Kyungsoo enters they stand to their feet.

The shorter of them Kyungsoo has never seen before, but the taller one Kyungsoo recognizes from the gala. He’s the one who had come to pull Chanyeol away from him at the bar. It’s him who picks up a vase and holds it out for Kyungsoo to accept. If there had been any doubts as to who the sender of his flowers was over the past five days was, this one flower arrangement dispelled them all. There are exactly six roses, six tulips, six carnations, six lilies, and six peonies, along with some baby’s breath and other green fillers. It’s the most pretty of the arrangements yet, and Kyungsoo appreciates the thoughtfulness of combining each of the other five previous ones into one. Whoever had thought of it was awfully sentimental.

“Hello Kyungsoo, my name is Oh Sehun. I’m Mr. Park’s personal secretary. This is my boyfriend, Kim Minseok.”

“Hello,” says Kyungsoo.

“Mr. Park sends his regards, and the flowers of course.”

“They’re lovely,” Kyungsoo says. He figures it's the safer of the two statements to respond to.

“Mr. Park called you to personally deliver flowers on the weekend?” In Na says.

Sehun chuckles, “Yes, he did. Although he did give me five days’ notice.” Then his face grows serious. “But if I may, I’d like to speak to you, personally, Kyungsoo. Alone.”

Kyungsoo looks to In Na for confirmation that it’s all right. God knows it wouldn’t be if Seungsoo was home.

“Make it quick,” she says with a sigh. “Before your brother gets home.”

Kyungsoo leads Sehun into his room. He sits on the bed, waiting for whatever Sehun has to tell him. The man, a beta by the lack of any distinct scent coming off of him, leans back casually onto Kyungsoo’s desk as if he were an old friend.

“What do you think of Chanyeol?” he asks.

“He seems like a capable and accomplished man.” Kyungsoo answers.

He chuckles again, a sound and look that softens his expression. “And what do you think of him romantically?”

“Did Chanyeol put you up to this?”

Sehun’s eyebrows go up at Kyungsoo’s use of Chanyeol’s first name. “No, the flowers were him. But this is all me.” he says. “So off the record, what are your feelings towards him?”

Kyungsoo takes a breath and summons an answer. It’s the answer he’s been telling himself all week, and especially all ride home today.

“I have no feelings for him. We live in two entirely different worlds. Chanyeol lives a life of luxury and I live a simple one. He can have a different woman on his hand every night of the week. Women who are tall and glamorous, worldly. Women who think nothing of walking away with no strings attached. I am not that type of man. I will not be another name on his list of conquests.”

“I assure you, the man you think Chanyeol is nowhere near the man he truly is.”

“Are you telling me he isn’t ruthless in his dealings? That he isn’t above threatening a pregnant omega to get his way? That he isn’t relentless and demanding?”

Sehun’s face softens, the hint of sadness hiding in his features. “I’ve worked for him for a long time. He’s not just my boss. He’s also my friend. I can tell you he wasn’t always like that.”

“What does it matter. We have nothing in common. I’m just a passing fad that will over by next week and he’ll be on to the next long-legged blond beauty like he usually is. Now if you please, you should really be gone before my brother gets home.”

Sehun stares at him a bit with a half grin. “Long-legged blond beauty. Seems like you’ve done your homework.” He stands to his feet. “But then again you are a librarian.”

He walks to the door and opens it, but just before he leaves he turns to look Kyungsoo in the eye.

“I will not be another conquest, Sehun. I will not be just another mountain to climb.”

“I won’t deny that Chanyeol is anything but experienced. But just because someone has already climbed a mountain, doesn’t mean the view from the top is any less spectacular. And I think you’ll find the list of those who have is far fewer than you think.

“Not everything is as it seems, Kyungsoo. You of all people should know how easy it is to manipulate facts. You’re a librarian.”

And then he’s gone.

 

-

 

It hits him early the next morning. Kyungsoo has been on suppressants since the day he turned 18, the moment he was legally old enough to take them. He didn’t want to fall behind in his schooling, didn’t want to miss any days of work. Seungsoo had sacrificed a lot to raise him after the death of their parents and still attend school himself. The way he saw it, he owed it to his brother to help shoulder some of that burden when he came of age. He takes them religiously, a little blue pill every morning. For nine years they’ve kept it at bay. Even still, he recognizes the pulsing desire for release for what it is. He’s in heat

He’s in heat even though he’s still on his suppressants. That can only mean one thing, even if it goes against everything he believed. Kyungsoo has imprinted on the Park heir.

He curls up into himself, trying to force away the desire and need. It’s a futile attempt, because he knows that a heat induced by imprinting will burn with all the more intensity than normal. There is only one way to quench it, to give him any sense of normalcy. But he doesn’t want that.

Correction, his mind doesn’t want it. But his instincts want it. The omega in him wants to call out for his alpha to give him the release and relief he so desperately yearns for. And dare he say his heart wants it too. Something in him wants to believe that the alpha feels the same way as he does.

He doesn’t know how long he lays there, half asleep and half delirious in want. But the next thing he knows there’s a hand gently pushing the hair out of his face. He blinks at the intrusion of light coming in from his windows and it takes a while before his eyes focus enough to make out the sight of his brother’s mate. The look she gives him is almost pitying, she does know a thing or two about heats.

“What’s the matter?” He hears his brother’s voice ask, but it’s distorted, as if Kyungsoo is underwater.

“He’s in heat,” In Na answers.

His brother let out a string of curse words.

“This is going to suck,” In Na says. “He should have gone off suppressants years ago. They aren’t designed to be taken forever. He can’t be left alone.”

What follows is Seungsoo and In Na trying to figure out who’s going to stay home and take care of him. His brother has an important board meeting about the new pediatrics wing, and In Na can’t take off because a stomach bug has already left the her school short staffed as it is. That leaves Yixing, pregnant as he is.

Kyungsoo doesn’t really listen to the conversation. He just wants relief, and he finds himself nuzzling into In Na’s hand as it caresses his head.

“The poor things doesn’t even own any toys,” Seungsoo mutters.

“Yeah, that’s something you can figure out, big brother.” In Na says.

She pulls away to leave and Kyungsoo instinctively tries to follow after her touch. He nearly tips out of the bed and his brother has to come help him back into it. He briefly hugs Kyungsoo close to him, pressing his nose to his neck where his alpha scent would be the strongest. It’s comforting, and helps calm Kyungsoo a little. But it’s not what Kyungsoo wants. It’s like being given a cup of tea when all you want is cup of black coffee. It works, but it doesn’t really satisfy you.

He’s vaguely aware of In Na coming back with some pills and a bottle of water. Seungsoo helps him get them down, and then he rocks to sleep as if he were a baby.

 

-

 

Chanyeol is on edge all day. He doesn’t know why, but it’s as if there’s an itch that he just can’t quite get rid of. A feeling that he can’t place, making him antsy and want to get out of the office. It would fade away from time to time, but then Chanyeol would do something else and the feeling would be back. He’s so deep in his thoughts of trying to figure it out that he walks past the door of the room he was headed towards.

“Mr. Park?” Sehun says, gaining his attention. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, Sehun. I seem to be a little distracted today.”

He turns around and walks into the conference room that was his destination, noticing that the feeling dissipates somewhat as he enters the room. He’s here for a briefing of the monthly operations of their banks. Joonmyun is here, as he always is. But he’s not sitting in his usual seat. Instead he’s further down the table from Chanyeol, as far away as he can get before making it obvious and throwing off the seating arrangements of the others in the room more than reasonable. It’s a subtle rebuff from the alpha, and Chanyeol knew it was as much as he deserved. Not that he felt at all sorry for his actions, though.

The meeting isn’t long, no more than thirty minutes. But Chanyeol notices the way that Joonmyun keeps looking at his watch. It’s one of those smart watches, and it seems like someone keeps calling him. The way he fidgets and squirms makes Chanyeol think it’s Yixing, for who else would get an alpha so anxious except a pregnant mate.

The moment the meeting ends Joonmyun darts out of the room, his phone already pressed to his cheek. The feeling returns, and Chanyeol realizes his instincts are trying to tell him something. He politely says his goodbyes and goes after Joonmyun. He finds him looking out of the floor to ceiling windows, his body shaking and almost in a panic.

“Joonmyun,” he says. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s my mate. He’s going into labor.”

“Congratulations,” Chanyeol says. He truly means it too. “You’ll make a fine father.”

“I need to go.” Joonmyun says. “I need bring him to the hospital. I need to go get him. I need…”

Chanyeol thinks that Joonmyun doesn’t know what he needs at the moment. The alpha is so worked up that he can’t think straight. He’s definitely in no state to drive right now. “I’ll drive you,” Chanyeol says.

“No!” Joonmyun shouts, gaining the attention of a few passersby. “No,” he repeats, a bit softer this time. “You can’t.”

“Why not?” Joonmyun looks away, obviously not wanting to give him an answer. “Joonmyun, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks more forcefully.

Joonmyun reluctantly turns to look back at him. He raises his head to look Chanyeol in the eyes. “He’s in heat,” he whispers out.

So that was the reason for his restlessness. Chanyeol all but drags Joonmyun to his car.

 

-

 

Kyungsoo wakes up to his senses being assaulted with the most amazing scent he’s ever smelled in all his life. It’s overwhelming and crashes down on him like a tidal wave, all at once and all too much. He knows immediately that it’s Chanyeol. He knows it because his body is practically singing, buzzing with the emotion that he feels. And then the strength of his heat flares and takes over.

All Kyungsoo remembers afterwards is Chanyeol’s lips on his own, on the shell of his ear, on his neck, on his everywhere. Then the pull of clothing as they stripped until they were both naked and bare for each other’s ravenous eyes and insistent touches. He remembers the feeling of Chanyeol’s tongue as he suckled his nipples as if they were already full of milk, the feeling of Chanyeol’s powerful thighs forcing Kyungsoo’s apart, and the way Kyungsoo didn’t even think to deny him access.

Chanyeol played Kyungsoo like he was an instrument. It didn’t take him very long before he figured out which touches brought out the best moans, the airiest gasps, and the hardest shudders from the omega. It was like he’d been preparing his whole life for a concert such as this, and Kyungsoo was going to be his definitive performance.

By the time Chanyeol reaches down to press against Kyungsoo’s entrance, Kyungsoo is dripping wet. There’s so much slick that Kyungsoo barely even feels the slide of the first finger. But when he adds two Kyungsoo can’t help but clench up and gasp at the feeling of being stretched, the feeling of being filled yet still so empty. Chanyeol watches him through it all, dipping low to occasionally kiss Kyungsoo on the lips or leave a mark on his otherwise flawless skin. But mostly Chanyeol watches the emotions and reactions Kyungsoo couldn't hold back if he tried.

It’s only when Chanyeol starts to add a third finger that Kyungsoo opens his mouth to actually speak. “Chanyeol wait,” he says. ‘I’ve never-” The air in his lungs disappears, the feeling of three fingers fully inside of almost too much for him.

Chanyeol shushes him, a kiss to his temple. “I know, baby,” he says. “I know.” Of course he would know he’s a virgin, he probably has a folder with Kyungsoo’s entire life.

Chanyeol works him until Kyungsoo is mess of need. The desire for release is so strong. Then Chanyeol finds it, that special spot within Kyungsoo that he’s never been able to find on his own before. “Chanyeol, please,” he moans out.

It doesn’t take long, not with how Kyungsoo’s heat is raging within him. It’s barely even a minute later that Kyungsoo achieves the release that’s been denied him for so long. It hits him with all the force of a storm, pounding through him in waves, each one more pleasurable than the last until his vision goes white and he forgets to breathe. Chanyeol takes care of him through it all, his fingers never stopping, his touches never leaving. Kyungsoo basks in the warmth of it all, slowly returning to some semblance of normalcy.

“You didn’t come,” Kyungsoo says when he regains full control of his faculties, the heat nothing more than a dull warmth of controllable want for the time being.

“This isn’t about me,” Chanyeol says, he pulls his fingers free and falls to his side so he can spoon himself against Kyungsoo. He wipes his hand on a clean part of the sheets and pulls Kyungsoo even closer.

Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh, “You’re nothing but a big softie,” he says. “A big fraud.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol says.

“Your image,” says Kyungsoo. “It’s all a lie.”

The reaction is immediate. He feels the way Chanyeol stiffens behind him, the tension that fills the alpha. The uncertainty that fills his alpha.

After Sehun’s cryptic comments yesterday, Kyungsoo had been intrigued enough to take another look at the facts. He did more research and tried to look at them with a fresh set of eyes. He threw out every preconceived notion, every conclusion that had been made through the colored lenses of Seungsoo and Joonmyun’s influence.

How else could the facts be put together? What other story could they possibly tell? The evidence towards Chanyeol being nothing more than a dangerous playboy was overwhelming. His years of digging and looking through every possible angle of inquiry wouldn't let him leave it alone, but what was he missing? It had to be something small yet something so pivotal to it all. And then it’s right there on his screen, plain as day in a picture of Chanyeol's sister on her graduation day.

Kyungsoo turns around to look Chanyeol in the eyes. He would have been perfectly content to spend the rest of his days buried amongst the bookshelves of his library. But that was before he met Chanyeol, before he’d gone and imprinted on the strong alpha, before fate intervened to tell him that Chanyeol was the one for him.

“I’ve been doing my research on you,” he says softly.

“And what have you found?” Chanyeol asks him, eyes wary.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that you are not the man you would have everyone believe you to be.” He goes slowly, leaving the door open for Chanyeol to take control of the conversation at any moment in time. “The women, all those actresses, models, all of them are a part of the dangerous persona that you want the world to believe you are. I don’t even think you’ve slept with all of them. They aren’t really your type.”

“And what would my type be?” Chanyeol almost looks scared, like he’s afraid Kyungsoo has him figured out.

“Smaller, dark-haired, male,” he says. “Like me.” With each word he sees Chanyeol’s apprehension grow. “Like Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol sucks in a breath. “How did you find out about Baekhyun?”

“I’m a historian, I know how to put together the pieces of history. There’s a picture of the two of you at your sister’s gradation.”

Kyungsoo lets silence settle between them, lowering his head to nestle against Chanyeol so that the alpha can deal with his thoughts on his own without Kyungsoo staring him in the eyes. He’s put the story together somewhat enough to have an idea of what Chanyeol might be thinking right now. He doesn’t pry, doesn’t push.

“We were together in high school, in that unofficially official way.” Chanyeol says. Kyungsoo fights the urge to look back up and meet his eyes. He doesn’t want to do anything that might stop the alpha from telling his story. Telling the story, getting it all off of this chest is as much for him as it is for Kyungsoo. He needs to face his demons before he can move on.

“We didn’t want the tabloids getting involved, so we kept it low key. I was so in love with him. I was so sure he was the one. Until the day that he wasn’t. The day that he met…the day that he met his mate.”

“Jongdae,” Kyungsoo whispers softly, knowing that Chanyeol would never have the courage to say the name himself.

“He was so different from me. Short, his features almost feline like. It was as if the universe was screwing me over, as if it was telling me I wasn’t good enough. I know Baekhyun didn’t mean to cheat, he had imprinted while I was away on a semester abroad. But it still hurt, that he would end up with someone that was so much not like me. I became jaded and I went out with someone that was the complete opposite of him. Tall and gorgeous, blond and curvy, a female. Then the tabloids got involved and I just let them do their thing. Half of what they said was pure lies, but it didn't matter. Because it was my way to sticking it to Baekhyun, of showing him that he hadn’t hurt me, because I was able to move on without him, with women that were nothing like him. I don’t even have to do anything anymore, the tabloids just make everything up and the women are just glad for the publicity that they don’t do anything to say otherwise.”

Chanyeol moves to position Kyungsoo so that he can look down at him. He’s flat on his back, the alpha’s arms caging him in and his piercing eyes full of sincerity as he stares down at Kyungsoo. He’s no longer the proud and arrogant alpha that Kyungsoo first met, but the broken and caring one that he’d long since buried. “And then I met you,” he says.

Kyungsoo smiles, “Are you sure you aren’t disappointed? I’m not a female, nor am I tall or blond.”

“I noticed,” Chanyeol says. “You probably won’t believe me, but I’m not going to lie to you. I have slept with a few of them, but nowhere even remotely close to what the tabloids say, and not in a number of years.”

“You don’t expect me to believe that you’ve been celibate, do you? An alpha like you has urges.”

“That’s what Sehun is for.”

“Your personal assistant?” Kyungsoo can’t hold back the surprise from his voice.

“He’s my best friend, too,” Chanyeol says defensively.

Even still, Kyungsoo can’t believe what he’s hearing. “But he has a boyfriend.”

Chanyeol chuckles a bit. “Minseok is well aware of our arrangement.”

“And he’s okay with it?”

Chanyeol shrugs, the motion a little awkward with how he’s using his arms to keep himself propped up. “It’s not like it’s one sided, he gets his chance too. They’re both betas, they understand the need to have a knot every so often.’

“Well they won’t be getting yours anymore.” The comment flies out of Kyungsoo’s mouth before he even realizes it.

Chanyeol smiles and reaches down and to cup Kyungsoo’s spent manhood, uncaring about the drying stickiness from his earlier release. “Possessive much?”

The action provokes a reaction from Kyungsoo, his fire of his heat flaring to life again. Chanyeol recognizes the change in the air and leans down to gently kiss Kyungsoo before he pulls back again. “This is your last chance to tell me no, Kyungsoo.”

“As if that’s even possible. We both know we’ve imprinted on each other.”

An amused look fills Chanyeol’s face, makes him look years younger. “Really, Kyungsoo? An educated man like yourself believing in such old-fashioned ideas such as imprinting.”

“Nothing like a firsthand experience to make a believer out of someone.” Kyungsoo brings his arms up to wrap them around Chanyeol’s neck to bring his lips back to his own. “Now claim me before I take Jongin up on his offer of a date.”

The growl that Chanyeol lets out is all alpha and not amused at all.

 

-

 

Seungsoo is furious when he gets home that evening. He storms into Kyungsoo’s room spewing his rage so intensely that it actually turns the air sour. His single minded aim was to throw Chanyeol out of the room, out of his house, and out of their lives for good, damn whatever consequences that might have followed. Were it not for the fact that Chanyeol was still knotted deep into Kyungsoo he might have succeeded. At least with the first two objectives.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were mated now, and nothing would ever separate them for long. Still, it didn’t stop Seungsoo from making Chanyeol prove himself. He made Chanyeol work for every date, every outing, and every minute of Kyungsoo’s time. Chanyeol did it all happily, never once complaining.

Seungsoo eventually lets his human and more rational side take over when it comes to his little brother. In time he forgave Joonmyun for his role in bringing Chanyeol into their house while Kyungsoo had been in heat. But it was hard not to. For an alpha that seemed to have everything under control, the birth of his son had made him suddenly a dizzying mess of forgetfulness and clumsiness. Plus, Seungsoo is not heartless.

Still, he is nothing if thorough. He sets up a meeting with Baekhyun and Jongdae, getting their side of the story out of them. They confirmed it all, their story lining up perfectly with Chanyeol’s version, as Kyungsoo knew it would. It’s only then that Seungsoo began to soften and begrudgingly give in to Chanyeol’s presence in Kyungsoo’s life.

Seungsoo even sets up a meeting between Baekhyun and Chanyeol, a way for the omega to apologize for hurting the alpha so deeply and to being to make amends in their relationship. It’s with that act that Kyungsoo knows Seungsoo has come to accept the alpha as a member of their family. The alpha as well as the doctor within his brother couldn’t help but want every member of his family to be happy and heal from whatever wounds they were suffering from, no matter how old they were.

The tabloids were slow it pick up on it all, only beginning to puzzle about it six months after they were mated. Chanyeol was still ruthless in his dealings, still the same cold-hearted businessman. But there were subtle changes that began to be too much to ignore. Most obvious was the decrease in the number of public appearances the alpha made. Then there was fact that he would always show up alone, even to events that he would normally find himself a date for. Rumors attempting to link him to one famous female or another still came up, but the quick and decisive way they were disproven beyond any shadow of doubt caught the attention of the many.

The thoroughness of it all made the gossip columns begin to wonder just how many of Chanyeol’s supposed conquests were true to begin with. They even went so far as to dig up that supposed sex tape from long ago, and this time they didn’t let it rest until they had found the actual man in the video. This time the power and influence of the Parks made no move to intervene and woman in the tape was raked over the coals for her deception.

Instead, the far reaching hand of the Parks was put to more altruistic purposes. There was an increase in the number of philanthropic projects, and their involvement in the building of the new pediatric wing is no longer anonymous. There is also a number of donations to programs that help people learn to read, as well as those that helped immigrant families find their footing. Despite all these signs, not a word of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s mating is leaked. Any announcement would be done on their terms.

It’s not until a full year after their mating that they decide the moment is right. They’re finally breaking ground on the new pediatric wing for Seungsoo’s hospital. Kyungsoo looks on as his brother and his mate both stick a shovel in a mound of dirt and pose for the cameras.

“Mister Park,” says a reporter. “Any words to describe this moment?”

Chanyeol turns to look at Seungsoo, the bright smiles on their faces mirror images of each other. “I’m really happy,” he says. “Dr. Do has been waiting for a long time for this to happen, as have his patients. It’s a real honor to be a part of making my brother-in-law’s dreams come true.” Those assembled let out a collective audible gasp, and Chanyeol turns to look right at Kyungsoo.

Well, that wasn’t subtle at all, thinks Kyungsoo as every camera in the ceremony turns to capture just who it is that Chanyeol is smiling at. He always knew Chanyeol wanted to make sure news of their mating was delivered in as dramatic a manner as possible. He simply smiles for the cameras.

Kyungsoo has to stop himself from placing a hand over his belly. He isn’t showing yet, but the instinct to rub it is still there. He plans on delivering his news to his mate tonight. In a far less dramatic way, of course.


End file.
